Camp Pendleton employee accused of taking bribe

San Diego  A U.S. Defense Department employee who federal officials said referred to himself as the “Godfather at Camp Pendleton” because of his influence over construction contracts was arrested after extorting a $10,000 bribe from a cooperating witness for the FBI, officials said Monday.

The $10,000 was the first payment of a $40,000 bribe that was intended to influence who got a $4 million flooring contract at the Marine base, FBI Special Agent Darrell Foxworth said in a statement.

Natividad “Nate” Lara Cervantes, 64, of San Diego, was taken into custody Thursday after the cooperating witness handed him the $10,000 in an envelope after the two met at a cigar lounge on Miramar Road, according to a federal complaint.

Cervantes threw the manila envelope on the ground as federal agents approached, the complaint said.

He is being held at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in downtown San Diego and had his first court appearance Monday.

Cervantes could not be reached Monday night at the jail, which requires a lengthy process for inmate interviews.

Cervantes supervises the Construction and Service Contracts Inspection Branch at Camp Pendleton, where he managed construction contracts, the complaint said.

In November, the cooperating witness told an FBI agent that Cervantes was extorting bribes going back to September 2008.

The cooperating witness, who was not named, is under investigation for engaging in kickback schemes, making false statements on federal forms and other crimes, the complaint said. The witness is motivated to cooperate in the bribery investigation “to receive more lenient treatment in potential future criminal proceedings,” according to the complaint.

The witness acknowledged paying about $20,000 to Cervantes over a two-year period, beginning in September 2008, after being contacted by Cervantes several times for money because the witness’s business had been awarded a prime contract at the Marine base.

The witness said that in August 2011 Cervantes again asked for money related to another contract. The witness said Cervantes was not involved in that contract, but he said he could makes things “go smoothly or badly” for the witness’s business.

Cervantes said he “normally demands 3 percent of the value of the contract,” but the witness could not pay that much. The witness made two $2,500 payments to Cervantes.

The witness told an FBI agent that Cervantes once said, “I am referred to as the ‘Godfather’ at Camp Pendleton.” Cervantes said he controlled what is called the “laydown” area on the base, where contractors set up their trailers, and determined what contractors got the best spots.

The witness said that a business associate also made cash payments to Cervantes.

At one point, Cervantes asked that his granddaughter be hired as a full-time administrative assistant, the witness said. She was later fired because she was not a dependable employee, the complaint said.

The witness also said Cervantes asked him to do free work on his downtown San Diego condominium.

When the witness and Cervantes met last week to agree on the $40,000 bribe, the conversation was recorded with a buttonhole recording device worn by the witness, the complaint said. The flooring contract was to be awarded in 45 days.

It was the second major criminal action involving contracts at Camp Pendleton this year.

In March, three civilian defense contractors who worked at Camp Pendleton pleaded guilty to conspiring to steal more than $3 million worth of medical equipment that was to be shipped overseas to be used for injured Marines, federal officials said. They are to be sentenced May 24.